Naomi Meredith  00:00

Even though it's not in the name, literacy definitely has a place within STEM challenges. In fact, I would even say that STEM and literacy are a perfect match, just like avocado toast. Well, the audio from this episode has never been heard before on this podcast. This presentation is from an online summit I did in the past at one of the Wonder Workshop International STEAM Summits. I'll be sharing five different ways that you can combine STEM and literacy together and make the perfect pairing in ways that you might not have thought of before. I'm more than just a STEM coach in this episode. Think of me more as your STEM chef. Chef's kiss. Let's get to it. 

Naomi Meredith  01:13

Hello, and welcome to this very fun session. I am so glad that you are here. Literacy and STEM integration are perfect like avocado toast. I am your presenter, Naomi Meredith. So why in the world would we even think about implementing STEM and literacy? They kind of seem like two separate worlds that don't exactly go together. Well, I had this analogy with avocado toast. If you don't like avocado toast, I'm so sorry. I love it. I know a lot of people do. So just bear with me. So of course, avocados are delish on their own. So is toast. But when you put the two together, it's an amazing combination. So just like STEM and literacy, they are amazing on their own and you do wonderful things in your classroom. But they are even better together. Actually it does that make your planning so much easier. I think coming from the classroom and into a STEM role, I still have that classroom teacher mindset, where I really want to be thoughtful about my planning, having things cross curricular, having those experiences be meaningful and integrated rather than separate. So literacy pops up into my instruction all the time. I know that whether you are a STEM teacher or a classroom teacher, or even have a different specialized role that you could find meaning within this integration. So today, I'm going to be sharing with you five different ways that you can integrate STEM and literacy together. I'm going to also give you some student examples that you could think about for your own planning or even do the same lessons in your classroom. 

Naomi Meredith  02:51

So first, we have STEM and stories. This is the first way I love sharing with teachers to integrate STEM and literacy into their classrooms. I feel like that this is the easiest way and in some ways the most fun to plan. But as elementary teachers, we love reading stories, we love books, we have extensive classroom libraries. Well, that can definitely go into your STEM integration. Now thinking about STEM and stories, it could be picture books, which are a great example. You could even use chapters from a chapter book, even nonfiction articles can fit into this category, STEM and stories. So with that, thinking about different types of STEM lessons you can use, the best one to get started is to think of stories that have a clear problem and solution. Oftentimes with that problem and solution, how building can go into that story. So I'll give you an example. If you've read this story, Iggy Peck Architect, they go on a field trip and the poor teacher heaven forbid, this would happen if I went on a field trip, but she passes out on the hill and the kids have to go save their teacher. You can pause reading the story and then have the kids build to solve the problem. Then you can read the rest of the story to see how their solutions compared to what is in the book. So a problem and solution story especially like I said building to solve a problem works really well with this integration. Also, alternate endings, stories that would change if the ending was changed, work well. So you're really thinking about that story structure with both of these problem and solution and alternate endings, parts of a story beginning, middle and end. What if the ending did change? You could have students write the alternate ending and then build what that alternate ending could be. So that again, a very easy integration. I know you're thinking of books in your head right now. Also, with STEM and stories, this is a great way to explore nonfiction topics. So some stories have specific science and nonfiction topics that it touches on or you can integrate other types of science within the story that would actually make sense. So you could go either way with that. What's really great is if you're using a fiction story, and then you're exploring nonfiction topics, you're really going into those standards when it talks about the paired selections, and comparing and contrasting, or you could do a nonfiction story and then a nonfiction exploration. So again, you're connecting all of those things together. What's really great about starting with the STEM and stories, and really, with all the other four examples is that you are maximizing your time. I know that teachers are pressed for time, you are really maximizing that time and connecting it all together and building up that scientific background for kids. 

Naomi Meredith  05:43

So more examples for you thinking about that problem and solution and if within this presentation when you have access to it, you can actually click on each of the pictures for more detailed lesson plans. The first one is showing After the Fall. So the book is really, really cute by Dan Santat I believe. After the Fall is after Humpty Dumpty fell and he's so sad, and he just doesn't believe in himself. He's down on his luck. Well, students can build a solution to that problem, Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall. This is a great time, springtime, easter eggs are on sale. You may have a collection hiding in your class, but students can build a solution to keep Humpty Dumpty safe for an alternate ending. In the middle, we have the gingerbread man. As we know, in their original there are lots of different versions. But in the original poor gingerbread man gets eaten by the fox. So what if the gingerbread man got a little bit smarter? It got to the river and we found a way to float across the river.  So there's an example kindergartener built, not me, I just held up the boat and took the picture. But students learned about sinking and floating and created a different ending for the gingerbread man to float across the river. Obviously, eventually, in that picture, the cardboard would disappear. Then we also have that scientific connection, where we read Beekle, The Unimaginary friend, and students create their own unimaginary friend, and they have to figure out a way to have them stay together with a magnetic force. So you're talking about forces with magnetic energy. So there are some, there's a little paperclip on her hand and a magnet on the back. But they could explore different things that are magnetic and not, and choose the one that works best to keep their friendship together. 

Naomi Meredith  07:26

Thing number two of how to integrate STEM And literacy is through robotics. The robotics in elementary isn't as scary as you might think. Luckily, a lot of companies out there just like Wonder Workshop, love Dash, the robot, that is a amazing robot to get started with in your classroom. I'm not getting sponsored to say this. But Dash is a wonderful robot to have in any classroom, because there are lots of different avenues to code that robot, there are others as well. Companies are making it a lot easier for coding and robotics to be in the classroom to get students exposed to that type of learning. So don't be scared of it. It is okay. What's great is that you can share robotics and connected again to that literacy. So a lot of those same types of things. So story retail, can be used building your vocabulary, we are always are working on vocabulary development, whether it is content specific or scientific specific that can definitely be incorporated there. Also, it's a cool way to bring the story to life, you're bringing that movement into life. So you not only are students thinking about the story, but they're thinking about the coding pattern as well. So that's really integrating different types of thinking, and that students will really shine with this hands on way. So thinking about story retell, any type of robot, you could do this with. This is a little bee bot, and we put a little hungry caterpillar face on it. But students were coding the robot to different squares on the grid to retell the Hungry Caterpillar eating the food in order of when it happened in the story. So it's really a great way. There's a little side tip of robotics is if you have robots, measure the distance of one forward move. So on this grid, I made it with butcher paper, and then I pressed go on the little robot for one forward move. Then I measured the distance that it took. So that helped me know how big my squares needed to be. I printed the little foods on the side to put on this square. So you could do that with Dash, the Code-and-Go-Mouse, Sphero, whatever robot you use, but that's how you can make a grid, very cheap. So code and retell this story. Also, building vocabulary having again, like talking about life cycles in your class, you could have students code the robot to show the lifecycle in order when it happens. So it could be on a grid, it could be in various places in the room for extra challenge that aren't measured precisely. So then they're building that vocabulary and going into your site. It's unit building that background knowledge, also bringing this story to life. And that last picture, we have Sphero to pull us through the Ididarod race. And so we were reading some fiction stories kind of goes with that sentence stories as well. But it was bringing how what the I did route is and how that is an annual event in Alaska. If you're from Alaska, I hope you've been I did write I want to talk to you sounds super cool to go to, I would never run the race, but I really want to go see it. But you can bring this story to life and make it more hands on and tangible for kids. So robotics is a great way. Don't be scared, you can definitely do it. 

Naomi Meredith  10:40

Another way to integrate that literacy and STEM together is green screen. Now you don't have to have an official screen, I have a blue screen behind me a blue painted wall. The one right next to me is green. But you can get creative with that green screen as well as go to Dollar Tree and get a green plastic tablecloth and it can be hung anywhere in your room, you definitely want to have great lighting. But also you think get even more creative. I could use this green stool behind me as a type of green screen, you can use green shirts, which you'll see in some of these examples as a type of green screen. So think outside of the box when it comes to a green screen, because you could definitely do it on a smaller scale, which even might be more tangible in the classroom, when you're thinking about the noise level and the space that you have. So green screen is really great. When you're thinking about book reviews. I know a lot of units are talking about opinion writing where you're trying to persuade someone to read the story. You can amp up your game with book reviews with green screen. Weather reports are a classic example. But it's a great way for kids to work on writing a script practicing that oral reading, which is another standard that oral recall that oral retail write a script and they can tell the weather report of that day. Also, research projects doesn't have to be super complicated can be enhanced with that green screen, a different way to publish. 

Naomi Meredith  13:41

So we have in the first one, you see the kids, we have an iPad stand and we can talk about other apps. Definitely message me we can talk about great apps to use for green screen, but green screen or blue screen can be used. Fun fact, blue or green is typically used because humans shouldn't naturally be that color. So it really makes things pop with that background. So students in their writing class, wrote a book review and they publish their writing. They wrote it out nicely. They did all the editing. But then they had to share with our audience. We didn't just type the story. We had kids verbally retell their stories. So you see that there's a little script hanging on or their writing hanging on the tripod. The student was reading their published piece from there and I wish I had a picture of this from there and the green screen app. We put the book cover on the shirt. So it looked like the kid was wearing their shirt to promote it like a little bit of marketing about their story. And the middle of course we have a weather report that was the weather that day. So students quickly in the morning wrote their weather report, practiced their script, and then they read it out loud and pointed to what the weather was and then we uploaded that video on Seesaw. The last example is me for a research report. I was wearing a green shirt and I blended them into green background and researched about a famous person in STEM, this was Mae Jemisen, and it goes along with those, like those old school, I guess, old school. But when you have kids research about a person, they cut out the paper and put their head in it. It's like that idea, but in a green screen more interactive way. And I'll tell you, if you just show the kids this video, they will start laughing, it is a little bit creepy. If I didn't stay still, my head was floating around. But it was just a fun way to prepare a research report. 

Naomi Meredith  15:26

Stop motion animation, one of the oldest animation techniques out there, it's still used today. It's used all the time. But it's also a great way that you can integrate STEM and literacy. Again, this is like a low floor high ceiling type of activity I've learned so much about, um, students patience and creativity. So much happens with stop motion in front of the screen. It's like, it doesn't take a whole lot of hard technology. There are lots of free apps out there. But students really are focusing on paying attention to detail and how they're going to manipulate the tools so that they can move smoothly. So this is really great for those problem solving skills. And if you can collaboration, so stop motion animation can be integrated with literacy, again, that story retell, that's really a big thing with our comprehension. Again, building that vocabulary, and it's a cool way to do creative writing. I love stop motion animation. And you're gonna see in these examples, you actually don't really need anything fancy. When I started this in my K through five STEM classes, I really didn't have a huge budget. So I actually had the kids do all of their stop motion animation, like that middle picture with papers, so we drew the props, and then they move them. So you can just do paper. If you don't have any budget, you can get started that like I said, the app is free. So if you have even your phone or one or two iPads, you could get started with stop motion animation. 

Naomi Meredith  16:55

So the first one with that story retell, this was a great starter activity. We combine Legos and modeling clay, but we talked about quickly, different, very few even doing a fairy tale unit, we talked about different fairy tales, and students had to retell the story through movement, and they weren't allowed to add sound, or music. So they had to be very clear with their visualisation and the movements of their images to show accurately the story. So the first one, you probably can guess, is Little Red Riding Hood. And so this group did a really great job collaborating together, and restyling Little Red Riding Hood. And we would all guess what the fairy tale was. Another one that was really great. I don't have a picture on here, but it was the tortoise and the hare and the kids had the little tortoise and the hair move inch by inch and had the whole story. It was amazing. And the tortoise was made out of clay. And then the hair was made out of Legos. So cute. When you're thinking about that building vocabulary. Fifth grade was talking about the human body systems. So they researched about a different body system like very specific, more like a body part like eyes, your heart, ears, more specific things. And then they had a rubric to what they needed to include in their stop motion video. And all of that I'll show you a couple examples are i'll link these in here. That way you can watch them on their own, they don't have sound. So if you go into the presenter notes are right there. Also with that creative writing, we really want to encourage that creativity in our classrooms. And having those narratives that are just have that creative piece and all those story elements, so students could complete their creative writing, and then create a stop motion animation to tell the story that they're trying to convey. So they can narrate over their movements with their creative writing piece. So I definitely recommend stop motion animations, second grade and up, I think you can do it with K and one with some guidance. But second grade usually can be a little more independent and understand the picture taking process Makerspace. Of course, they're all these big names, and they really aren't scary, I think you can definitely do it. But Makerspace is my fifth way for integrating STEM and literacy together. And so you definitely again can integrate the two and make a meaningful experience. When you're thinking about stocking up your Makerspace, having donations from home is a great place to start or even if you're wanting to do it next school year. I have a little bin at my house where I start collecting things all summer long, and then I'll bring it into school. So cardboard, for sure bottles, all those sorts of things. But writing game rules is a great way to integrate that Makerspace experience when you're talking about a how to and how to be really clear with your writing and playing a game you have to be very, very specific. You might even be thinking about some games we like there are some games that have not very good rules. So those are some good non examples as well that you could share with students. You definitely can integrate that Engineering Design Process which a lot of states are adopting or already are using. 

Naomi Meredith  20:00

In the Next Generation Science Standards, which do have a portion that have the Engineering Design Process, so integrate that Makerspace, that science piece, all the literacy, those can all be connected together. And then of course, research projects are a great opportunity to use Makerspace. Because, really, you don't need a whole lot of materials. So we used to have some cardboard and tape, you're good to go. When you're thinking about those game roles. Students can design a game using cardboard, tape, marbles, and then create those game roles. So how many players are needed? What do you do step by step, if I were to read your directions, what I know how to play, you could even have the editing phase where the game is created, students have to read the instructions, they can't ask the author, and then figure out how to play and then they can get feedback on the game rules. That could be that editing that peer review, and see how they could change the rules. So it makes more sense, or even giving feedback like, hey, we found another way to play, maybe you want to change this piece up. So that'd be a great way to make that meaningful editing part. When you're building that vocabulary, they Engineering Design Process, so you have the problem you're trying to solve. And then that research piece and keeping track of information. This is just one way but building a cardboard airplane. And you're talking even that math with the STEM, all the different measurements and the lines and angles of how you should set up different parts of the airplane, you could go through that whole engineering design where students are gathering data, and also writing the modifications that they made to their airplane and how it improved their design. So you can definitely go deeper into the responses for various phases. I think that modification piece and also explaining how the design worked or great opportunities to really integrate that writing. And that oral communication research projects. Like I said, low practice is a recycling plant. So we were researching about how recycling plants work, and what types of things can be recycled. So we did some research on that. And then we built up our recycling plants. And then students were able to present about how a recycling plant works. Again, that oral communication, you can go as deep as you want and reading. We also use books on Epic books, which is a free for teachers website, where there are lots of great examples of how to take care of the earth, how recycling works, how it compost works. So we're working on that Earth piece together. So lots of ideas out there, you do have access to this presentation and click on those different pictures to go more in each of those lessons. But I know I'm that kind of person where I want to try all the things and maybe you're like oh, so overwhelmed, you don't know where to begin well next steps. Choose a lesson that you have in your unit upcoming that you think needs an upgrade. And springtime is a great time to dive in and try something new. And the kids have this energy but use that energy in a really hands on way and the kids will still be productive and engaged. So choose the lesson you think needs an upgrade. Try one of these ideas. It could be a lesson, or it could be a whole topic maybe the last month of school you want to do Makerspace so you're talking about Earth Month, bringing your recyclables let's find what we find outside we can build with it. So definitely use what you have. You don't have to start off completely fresh, but use that little upgrade. So make it gourmet avocado toast get really good. Don't feel like you got to make all the different avocado toast.

Naomi Meredith  23:34

Make one really good with the salmon in the egg and the capers like that picture. Oh my gosh, I'm getting hungry right now. But make that one lesson really, really good.

Naomi Meredith  23:50

Integrating STEM and literacy is so much fun. And I bet you're dying to see all of the examples and handouts from this presentation. You can grab the video recording of this episode, the video slides I referenced throughout student examples, and bonuses for only $5. That's cheaper than the dog treats that I like to buy for my little dog Frederick, way cheaper. The bonus includes a list of tools that you can use in STEM and literacy integration to different lesson planning templates and clickable links to lesson plan ideas you might want to try for various grade levels. This will be linked in the show notes, and you can check it all out here. Naomi meredith.com/stem literacy video where you play.